Right. There's no doubt that wearing a helmet makes you safer. Helmet use should be encouraged. However, the outcomes for society are considerably worse if helmets are made mandatory.

This has been demonstrated by the experience of New Zealand where helmet use was made compulsory in the 1990s. Not only did cycling rates decline by more than 50%, the rates of serious cycling injuries and deaths actually increased. It turns out that when there are less cyclists on the road, remaining cyclists are more vulnerable - helmet or not.

The transition on attitude towards skiing helmets (at least in European resorts) has been really interesting to watch. It has gone from being something that only children and the seriously hardcore off piste snowboarders.

I never used to wear one, and neither did most of the people I ski with, but over the last 5 years its changed until we now seriously judge people for being reckless if they won't wear a helmet.

The death of Natasha Richardson (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natasha_Richardson#Injury_and_...) was fairly well publicised in the UK and I think that had a bit of a catalytic effect for us, but it was pushing at an open door of a change that was already happening.

> The transition on attitude towards skiing helmets (at least in European resorts) has been really interesting to watch.

I agree.

Ten years ago, only racers wore helmets.

Five years ago, some people did.

Now, I suspect it's the majority who wear a helmet.

I bought one too, a few years ago.

Yup. The people who don't stand out - and they're almost universally the older generation of serious skiers (>= retirement age) who are too stuck in their ways.

To quote my Dad (who admittedly hasn't skied in years) "You wear a helmet? Why? I never needed one".

Yeah. For me, it's pretty much: I don't ski much these days. I don't ski particularly aggressively. I've never worn a helmet and I'm not about to start now.

It's not that I think they're stupid or anything. And I do wear helmets for various other sports. I just never have for skiing and don't feel compelled to change.

But that's what the Natasha Richardson accident proved - it's not about your skiing, it's about other people's skiing. In much the same way as you wear a seatbelt even if you're a perfect driver - someone else can still crash into you.

Also, the fact that I've never had a potentially fatal car accident doesn't mean that I don't see the need to wear a seatbelt. The safety numbers made a risk obvious and the behavioural pattern changed to manage the risk.

I'm certainly not going to argue that people shouldn't wear helmets or that you can control all the factors that could lead to being glad you had a helmet on.

But there's risk in everything and, for me, I'm not going to worry about the incremental risk of downhill skiing without a helmet a couple days a year.

It's true in (at least some areas of) the US as well. I went downhill skiing in California for the first time in a few years last winter and, for the first time, I was very aware that I was definitely in the minority not wearing a helmet. (I do wear a hat with some impact resistant padding.)

There's been a big shift. I suspect at least part of it has been that helmets have been the norm for kids for a while--especially after snowboarding became common. I assume many parents felt they had to start wearing helmets if they were telling their kids they had to.

In France it has taken time, and there are still some holdouts (most notably the national ski school, ESF).

I believe it's mandatory already in several Swiss resorts, I know it is in Zermatt.

I really hope the ESF will mandate helmets for all instructors, this would go a long way to normalising them.

I don't think wearing a helmet when skiing is comparable to commute cycling. I think motorcycling would be closer. In both cases you're going at relatively high speeds with quite long breaking distances.